Alongside your product offering, your packaging and shipping choices are key to get right for selling strongly online.
Whether you're shipping ambient products, liquids, chilled and/ or very short shelf life products - the good news is that there are packaging solutions for almost everything these days. On Yumbles we have sellers successfully posting whole cakes, cupcakes, cheeses, meats and even Easter Eggs without an issue.
In this guide we boil down the essential tips on effective packaging & shipping based on over a decade of running a food & drink marketplace.
How to Avoid Damage
Items should be packed tightly with no spaces to avoid breakages. Do a "rattle test" - if you shake the box nothing inside should rattle around.
Always test your packaging by doing test sends to friend and family.
There's packaging for even the most fragile of items! Take a look at these clever solutions:
Shipping Chilled Items
Chilled items need suitable packaging that keeps them chilled for at least 48 hours (to allow for customers not being in on first attempt/ or a short delivery delay).
Always send on a guaranteed next day service. We also advise that you never dispatch on a Friday (and possibly not on Thursdays, either) to avoid getting stuck in depots over weekends.
Chilled items should be shipped fully tracked, ideally with a service like DPD that sends mobile notifications and crucially enables in flight changes. Don't forget to use the available delivery integrations on Yumbles to ensure the customer are getting all the tracking communications seamlessly (see here). If you don't use any of the delivery partners we currently have integrations with then do be sure to provide the tracking details when you mark the orders as dispatched so the customers have them.
Short Shelf Life Items
Just like chilled items, any items with shelf life under 7 days such as breads, macarons, doughnuts, cakes should only ever be sent on a guaranteed next day service (not Royal Mail 24!) and never on a Friday (and possibly not on Thursdays, either) to avoid getting stuck in depots over weekends).
They should also be shipped fully tracked, ideally with a service like DPD that sends mobile notifications and crucially enables in flight changes. Don't forget to use the available delivery integrations on Yumbles to ensure the customer are getting all the tracking communications seamlessly (see here). If you don't use any of the delivery partners we currently have integrations with then do be sure to provide the tracking details when you mark the orders as dispatched so the customers have them.
The Wow Factor
If you are targeting a more premium price point and/ or your range is targeting gifting then your packaging (outer and inner) really needs to deliver also on the wow factor.
Using good quality materials, considering the visuals and careful packing layouts...with good attention to detail you can create a packaging experience that excites and delights your customers, and sets your product range apart!
Order Inserts
Must have's to include in your orders are:
- the Yumbles packing slip (this is required in the seller Ts & Cs.)
- ingredients lists & allergen advice
- shelf life & storage information
If you can, a handwritten thank you note can go along way in showing your appreciation and personalising the interaction. One of the joys of ordering from a small business on Yumbles is that more direct and human connection.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT include any other promotional materials that direct customers to your own website or provides your contact details as this is against the Seller Ts & Cs. We do check for this via mystery shopping and if a violation is detected it will lead to restrictions on your account.
Sustainability
We must of course mention the sustainability of your packaging is an important consideration you will no doubt consider. Customers really are caring increasingly about this from the feedback we get - they don't like to see wasteful excessive nor single use packaging.
These days there are good and increasingly more economical sustainable packaging solutions out there from biodegradable/ compostable cellophane and eco-friendly alternatives to packing peanuts.
Do your research
And finally, we'd always recommend that you see what is out there and how other businesses are packaging and shipping similar products to yours.
Look-up successful similar sellers on Yumbles and place an order with them to see how they are packaging and shipping for ideas. Of course you will want to find your own unique approach to packaging but learning from other businesses is always a great source of input for any business challenge.
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